Chapter 9

Hide kept his gaze on the forest below him. The flowers had long stopped appearing on the trees. The trees had become an autumn yellow, with hints of orange and red around the edges of each respective tree.

Sooner or later, after about a silent 4 hours of seeing those beautiful trees, they began to shift to dead trees, then royal yellow sands,that twinkled in the warming sun.

The further into the desert they went, the hotter it got. At that point, Hide began to regret leaving his home that wasn't so scorching hot.

No! He thought.

You can't go home because of a little heat. I may not have been built for it, but this is the only warm kingdom! Every other one is either freezing or just like home. He thought, his tail lashing back and forth, causing him to glide from side to side in mid-air.

Hide glanced down at the ground, seeing dozens of cacti sprinkled all around him.

"Ughhh! Takashi, I hate to complain, But how much further? My wings feel like they're gonna give out on me." Tsuki groaned.

Takashi slowed his pace, turning his wings inwards. Before too long, He was side by side with Tsuki

"Hide! We're gonna land soon. If I'm not hallucinating, I see a den that seems dark enough for shade, and to cool off." Takashi called out, bumping Tsuki on top of his back.

Hide glanced over to Takashi, who had a sleeping navy blue dragon on his back, happy for a break. He saw that Takashi was looking southeast of their position in the sky. Hide followed his gaze, to see a small patch of oasis, having the den Takashi mentioned, and fresh water.

As Takashi began to slightly glide downwards, Hide did the same.

Once they had landed, Hide had this weird feeling like he was being watched. He stood still for a moment, trying to pick up a scent. However, with all the new smells from the sand, to the flora around them, he couldn't make anything out.

Takashi gracefully walked over to the den, where he politely sat Tsuki down in the cool den. Everything inside seemed dead. Lifeless. After setting her down, Takashi walked out, admiring the sun.

"I still don't get how can you admire such a scorching sun. It's been torture flying in that thing for only 5 hours." Hide said, making his way into the large pool of water, as pure and clean as a diamond itself.

"You see, in the kingdom of the ground, it may not be as warm as this place, but everyone often sat in hot dirt bathing areas that were often in the sun, so everything was scorching hot in those baths. I stopped taking them after I turned four years old." Takashi said, closing his eyes, with a soft smile on his face.

"Still doesn't explain how you like the SCORCHING SUN so much," Hide said, swaying his tail in the water.

"Seriously? Have you not been paying attention?" Takashi asked, opening his eyes in an angered way.

"I have. But I still don't understand." Hide said, his ears sinking into the water.

"So to put it in a privileged weak-wing language, I learned to enjoy the heat after years of work, and dirt bathes in the sun," Takashi said, a smug smile escaping his mouth.

Hide's tail lashed at the term 'Privileged weak-wing'.

"I'm not a weak-winged dragon. I'm strong. You just don't see it because you know your parents in the kingdom of fire didn't want you. They probably sold you for some food." Hide spit back, his eyes staring dead at Takashi's.

"Excuse you? You're so Rude! I only said what was on my mind." Takashi said, his wings extending.

"Don't play the victim! Hate to break it to you, but this happens all the time. Get used to not being wanted." Hide said, stepping out of the pool, and flexing his wings.

Hide's sclera turned black, his Ocean-blue eyes shining in the sun. Hide's shadow in the minor ripples, made him seem bigger than he ever was.

Hide jumped out of the water, a crackling sound escaping his mouth, and a high-pitched noise followed. He was low to the ground, like a wild cat stalking their prey. He had a wicked grin on his face, as more sizzling and popping sounds escaped his mouth.

"I've had enough of you. You've insulted my kind, and insulted me as a Dragon, with no repercussions. I'm insulted to think you could be so selfish." Hide said, the noise growing louder.

"You're weak! Just like you're father! I bet he was never home!" Takashi yelled, smoke rising from his nostrils, twirling around his horns.

Hide inhaled sharply, a bright light coming from his mouth. The sand began to spin around them, as more light erupted from his mouth.

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!" Tsuki roared, her tail whipping the sand below her, the sound booming from the echoey den.

Hide's eyes quickly faded back to normal. His sclera went back into an off-white, and his mouth's light was soon gone. The sand soon fell as fast as it had begun flying. Takashi's ears lifted, and he soon fell into an anxious expression.

"What is wrong with either of you? We're not back in a place where you're free to argue and blast each other to bits. We're here for a reason, and you two are frankly, pathetic." Tsuki said, her voice grim.

Takashi's eyes flicked to the dunes behind them. As Hide followed his gaze, he saw a scrawny gold dragon peeking out of the sand, their sage green eyes wide, and curious.

"Who are you?" Takashi called.

The pale-yellow dragon emerged from the dunes, their scales twinkling with some sand still stuck to their body. Their tail had a large shovel-like end to it, and it swayed vigorously, trying to make room for them on top of the sand. They shot over to the dragonets, the sand gracefully sliding them along until they were right in front of Takashi.

Upon further inspection, the dragonet was female. Her pupils had formed into thin slits as she bore into the large dragonet. Her forked tongue flicked out of their mouth every few moments.

"My name is Tai. I'm a dragon of sand." She said.

Her voice was lower pitched but sounded feminine. She had mini spikes on the top of their head, with huge horns, that looked like they shouldn't be on her head. Her pale gold scales had a major contrast to her Sage green eyes. Not to mention her horns even made her face look mature.

"So, what's with the fighting? You could disturb our queen from miles away," she said, her tongue flicking as she glared up at Takashi still.

She may have been half his size, but Hide could sense the fear radiating off of him. Tai quickly flipped her gaze to Tsuki, turning her head to stare at her.

"Also, feathered one, why are you in my den?" She asked, her tone shifting to a light curiosity.